MIJ Fender Basses, used, thoughts?

[ecadad]

I've been thinking of getting a used Japanese Fender bass, either a J or P, but I don't think I'll have a chance to play one in person.

What are the necks like on Japanese Fenders? Are the Jazz necks slimmer than a P neck? Are they generally decent basses? Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Just like any other Fender product, some are great, some are not so great.
I wouldn't buy one w/o checking it out first, or at least having a return policy in case it doesn't check out.

If you want Japanese, just get an Ibanez Prestige.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[TuneIn]

Fender MIJ's are nice. I've picked up two used Areodyne's here on tb for a fair price. A 90's p/j (I upgraded w/ EMG Geezer's), and current Jazz medium scale (I upgraded w/ bartoloni's). Both are solid, play, and sound great (now after pu upgrades). The Jazz is really fun to play, the only issue is, it has this skunk stripe on the back of the neck, and at the end its not flush with the rest of the neck and is what the person who sold it to me called "a normal thing with these bases", whatever ...it can be a speed bump when moving out of the first position, so even some of those fenders have qc issues.

 

[wraub]

Ime, the odds of getting a good MIJ example are better than the odds of getting a decent one from most other mfg. locales. IMO all Fenders should be checked out before buying regardless.

 

[brlottermann]

I know I'm late, but I just stumbled upon this thread and thought I'd share my two cents. I bought an all-original 1996 MIJ P-Bass '62 Reissue locally in Boston for under $600, and its quickly becoming one of my favorite instruments. It plays extremely well and is an expertly built instrument, with a huge chunky sound. The neck is like any P-Bass neck that I've played, definitely a bit thicker than a jazz bass neck, but it didnt take long to get used to (even though this is the first P-Bass I've owned). IMO a mid-90s MIJ is a great choice for a relatively cheap, professional quality/sounding instrument for any rock/pop/R&B occasion.

 

[Lownote38]

My first bass was a 1989 MIJ Fender Precision. It was an awesome bass, and I wish I still had it!

 

[garp]

I bought a pre-owned CIJ direct from the Land of The Rising Sun, simply because I could not find the permutation of features that I wanted here in The States. It's one of the rare instances that I have bought an instrument without first playing it. Suffice to say that I was not disappointed.

 

[GreaserMatt]

I love fender MIJ basses....

 

[Old Blastard]

Of my four Fenders, three are Made In Japan by Fujigen and are awesome. My fourth is a Starcaster made in China by whoever and it is every bit a Fender.

 

[bassmacguffin]

I have 2 Precision Lytes MIJ, they are my goto basses for gigs, their lite and sound great

 

[grrg63]

My 80s medium scale Squier Pbass is my main player & favorite.

 

[gln1955]

What are the necks like on Japanese Fenders? Are the Jazz necks slimmer than a P neck? Are they generally decent basses? Any thoughts would be appreciated!

My Aerodyne P has a Jazz neck. It is virtually identical in width and contour to my MIM Jazz. Of any Fender product, I would feel most confident buying a MIJ without playing it first.

 

[hypercarrots]

Do most Japanese fenders have glossy neck finishes? My jaguar, jb62fl, jb62ss and mustang all have the same style thick glossy finish on the neck.

 

[Mediocrity Man]

Bought a 70's classic P here not long ago. Great bass! Quality seems at least on par with US models I've tried.

 

[Mediocrity Man]

Do most Japanese fenders have glossy neck finishes? My jaguar, jb62fl, jb62ss and mustang all have the same style thick glossy finish on the neck.

A scotch brite pad or very fine sandpaper does wonders. I hate high gloss necks so that's the first thing that goes.

 

[bordinco90]

You just gotta roll the dice..... try and ask all the questions about the bass you can and hopefully the sell will be honest with you. Good Luck.

 

[skwee]

I prefer the Japanese-made Fenders over the Americans I've played.

 

[seedokebass]

Do most Japanese fenders have glossy neck finishes? My jaguar, jb62fl, jb62ss and mustang all have the same style thick glossy finish on the neck.

My 96 MIJ P has a satin finish which is very comfortable. Had an 86 E series for a while that was an awesome bass, though tonally it didn't do anything for me. Gloss neck on that one... it was okay, but if I kept it I would have taken some fine sandpaper to it and swapped pickups.

My 96 is awesome btw. Plays and feels just as good as any American Standard I've ever played. Been thinking of getting a matching Jazz from the same era in the same color (Lake Placid Blue)

 

[2luvthebass]

Got a MIJ 84' or 85' p-bass. Bought it for $500 from one of my local music stores. The craftsmanship is really really good. I can't say the same about a brand new 2017 MIA jazz that I purchased online a little later. I swapped out the wonky tuners for hipshots, replaced the bridge with a hipshot (medium mass) bridge, replaced pots, and put in fender custom 62' pickups (made thin spacers out of lexan to fit between the pickup and shell....pole pieces were sticking out a little) All I can say is WOW! This bass exceeded my expectations big time. My only complaint is that the truss rod is not accessible without removing the neck, but who the hell cares, mines don't move. Set it and forget it.

 

[Texsunburst59]

About 5 yrs. ago, I picked up a '90 Fender MIJ '57RI P-Bass at a pawnshop for $125 out the door.

The bass as a whole is great. It needed a little set up to get playing good,but it's as good as any of the other MIA basses
I've owned.

As a matter of fact, I sold off most of my other basses and this one is still in the fold.